Xavier Zaragoza/The Daily Dispatch

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords met with more than 75 Cochise County residents Saturday at Safeway, where she spoke privately with everyone of them.

District 8 Rep. Gabrielle Giffords put a new twist on the town hall meeting when she met with her constituents one at a time.

More than 75 Cochise County residents waited in line at Safeway Saturday afternoon just to get a chance to speak with her.

Former Douglas City Councilman Ramon Jordan waited nearly half an hour, but it was well worth it. Jordan had voted for Giffords in the 2006 Congressional elections and was now about to meet her for the first time.

"I just wanted to congratulate her and tell her she has my support for all the good work she's been doing," Jordan said.

Other constituents, though, had more somber concerns on their minds such as education, Iraq and, of course, illegal immigration.

Anjelita Nuñez wanted to know what could be done about improving educational opportunities for Douglas students.

"Douglas children don't have a lot of opportunities to make the next step toward college," Nunez said. "I hope Ms. Giffords can do something about it."

Jinny Jordan wanted to know what was going to happen to the Border Patrol's helicopter maintenance unit that, because of lack of space, is being asked to leave its current location at Fort Huachuca.

"If they bring the helicopter maintenance to the Douglas Airport, it would be a huge economic boon for this city," Jordan said. She said it would also benefit the Airframe and Powerplant program at Cochise College.

Congress in Your Corner

For Giffords, the one-on-one approach offered everyone a chance to speak with her without being intimidated by the town hall structure or group dynamics.

"It's a chance for them to talk to me about what's important to them without everyone knowing or hearing about it," Giffords said.

Along with the issue-specific town hall meetings and the one-on-one approach, Giffords has also been very active in responding to the phone calls, postal mail and e-mails she receives at her office.

"It's another way to keep in touch," she said. "They may not agree with what I say or do, but they have every right to know what I think and it's certainly my job to know what they think."

Since January of 2007, Giffords has held seven "Congress in Your Corner" meetings throughout her district.